EFT Into Schools

Posts Tagged ‘Childrens Stress’

Four wayward, disruptive, aggressive, “not-interested-in-learning” students with a “last reprieve” undertook a three-week program to address their problematic behavior. Desperate for a solution to this growing problem within the school, the Resource Teacher-Learning and Behavior, of Pukekohe High School in New Zealand and the Principal invited EP specialist Wayne Thompson to implement an EFT-based program, as everything else the school had tried had no impact.

The program’s focus was to give students tools to manage their negative emotions, so no matter what problems arose, they would be able to choose better behaviors.  The students’ initial attitude was a challenge. They were resistant and thought the “tapping” technique was too weird!

Wayne used a four-step process that began by building rapport with the students using NLP matching and pacing techniques and then continued with identifying the disruptive patterns in their use of language, swearing, fidgeting, talking out of turn, rocking on their seats, etc.  Next, Wayne encouraged their disruptive patterns, which allowed him to then interrupt these negative patterns.   Lastly, he facilitated new positive patterns through role-play.

During the three week period, Wayne’s main focus was to make sure that the students learned how to use EFT and apply it to challenging situations as they arose in the present and to also apply EFT to negative events from the past.  Every day the program commenced with the students doing the EFT routine together to reinforce learning the technique.

Weeks after the program finished, staff noticed huge shifts in the students’ behavior. The Principal has asked for a follow-up program, and news of its success reached another local school.

Rehana Webster BSc
www.behaviourchanges.com/

IS TEST ANXIETY SABOTAGING YOUR CHILD’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE?
Judith Albright, EFT Practitioner
 

Remember when children’s fears centered mostly on the boogeyman, spooks, hairy monsters and things that go bump in the night?  That was before schools became preoccupied with standardized tests and penalties for poor performance. Today a significant number of children find test taking to be far more terrifying than any monsters they could ever imagine. From elementary school through college, test anxiety has become a serious impairment to academic achievement that is impacting students of all ages and ethnic backgrounds Studies have shown that test anxieties begin to rise sharply in grades 2 — 4, and remain high for the remaining school years. Teenagers in particular rate schoolwork and exams as the greatest source of stress in their lives. According to the American Test Anxiety Association, at least 20% of students feel high to severe test anxiety and another 16% are considered to experience moderate test anxiety. This means than more than one fifth of the children in schools today, or an estimated 10 million children, are seriously impacted in North America alone, and the percentages are increasing. 

Statistically, children who experience severe test anxiety are more likely to perform poorly in school and repeat grades.  These children are more easily distracted.  They frequently eperience mental blocks during an exam, even on questions they know because they blank out or have racing thoughts.  Even the thought of taking a test causes some children to panic and convince themselves they will fail.  Before taking a test, anxious students can actually create a kind of “noise” or “static” in the brain that blocks their capability to recall important nformation. High test anxiety also reduces the ability to comprehend and retain material, making it difficult to reason, concentrate and solve problems.  As a result, students with high anxiety levels core an average of 12 percentile points below their less anxious classmates, which can reduce scores by a half or even a full letter grade. For these students, test results do not accurately reflect preparation or ability.

Yet our society is test oriented, and in many instances a child’s and even a school’s future can hinge on a single test. As schools have been mandated to give annual math and reading tests and hold accountable those that fail to show improvement, test anxiety has understandably ncreased.  Many states make decisions about funding for individual teachers’ and principals’ salaries, and even accreditation of schools based on test scores.  Nearly half of the states in the U.S. require high school seniors to pass a test in order to graduate. As the stakes grow higher, so does the pressure.

While some stress can be a powerful motivator, too much of it can undermine morale and sabotage performance.  According the U.S. Department of Education, students who suffer most from test anxiety tend to be worriers who are extremely self-critical. Instead of feeling challenged by the prospect of success they become paralyzed by fear of failure.  Seldom calling attention to themselves, these students become anxious about being anxious. They feel ashamed of themselves and inadequate about their inadequacies.  Some carry on bravely in spite of their fears while others simply start avoiding schoolwork altogether.

Students with high anxiety levels tend to believe that their feelings are nothing unusual. Therefore, the most prevalent scholastic impairment in our schools today remains largely unidentified and seldom treated. Test anxiety has become so commonplace it is even considered normal. However, a significant number of students will never realize their full academic potential without help managing their anxieties. Without intervention, performance anxieties continue into adulthood, often restricting career choices and interfering with job advancement.  

Thanks to an acupressure technique developed in the last few years, help for test anxiety is literally close at hand.  Introduced in 1995 by Gary Craig, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a powerful self help type of energy therapy that is providing thousands of people with relief from emotionally caused conditions.  Commonly called “needleless acupuncture,” EFT works on the same energy meridians used by traditional acupuncturists for over 5,000 years but without needles. The process is easy to learn and involves a simple protocol of fingertip tapping on key acupressure points while focusing on a specific issue or problem. 

The acupuncture points function as amplifiers that boost electrical signals as they flow throughout the body.  Tapping gently on specific meridians causes the body to release negative emotions, beliefs and traumas and relax into a state of well-being.

EFT is increasingly being used today by medical and mental health professionals around the world because of its effectiveness in treating emotionally based conditions.  Particularly effective in treating fears and phobias, EFT offers children a safe, effective and drug free way to overcome anxieties and increase their academic performance.

Contact Information:
Judith Albright, EFT-CC, EFT-ADV
www.stressfreewitheft.com
E-mail: judith@stressfreewitheft.com